One less faux weapon in Creationists’ arsenal

The Shroud of Turin is one of those Christian faith “miracles” that get shoved into unbelievers’ faces the most, as though an old scrap of cloth with some vague, barely discernible imprints on it constituted any sort of evidence, much less proof, of Jesus’ divinity. Never mind telling them that extensive radiocarbon dating has consistently shown that it dates from no further back than the 13^th century on average, and that it’s obviously nothing more than yet another money-grubbing attempt by the Church to attract hoodwinked and endlessly gullible believers (the sort who also crave to see Jesus’ dried foreskin, I presume. *cringes*). Of course not – y’see, it’s a miracle that cannot be reproduced by modern techniques!

Except that, yes, it can – and has. An Italian scientist has reproduced the shroud in its exactitude, conclusively demonstrating how there is less magic and spirituality surrounding the shroud than any other old bit of dirty fabric.

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian scientist says he has reproduced the Shroud of Turin, a feat that he says proves definitively that the linen some Christians revere as Jesus Christ's burial cloth is a medieval fake.

The shroud, measuring 14 feet, 4 inches by 3 feet, 7 inches bears the image, eerily reversed like a photographic negative, of a crucified man some believers say is Christ.

"We have shown that is possible to reproduce something which has the same characteristics as the Shroud," Luigi Garlaschelli, who is due to illustrate the results at a conference on the para-normal this weekend in northern Italy, said on Monday.

And how did he do this? It turns out, it was nothing extraordinary – he merely used pigments, acids, and other materials that were readily available in the Middle Ages, which is exactly where the shroud has been shown to originate.

Will this finally shut the kooks up? … Of course not. Let’s be reasonable (by not expecting them to be as much). But for anyone with any thinking abilities left, this does conclusively demonstrate, yet again and beyond reasonable doubt, that the notorious Christian relic is no more than a fake used as a hoax.

(via Pharyngula)
Technorati tags: Shroud of Turin · Christianity · Jesus · miracles